local election in Bengal comes under cloud
The West Bengal civic poll crisis, which has snowballed following the resignation of the State's Election Commissioner Susanta Ranjan Upadhyay, is yet another manifestation of the deteriorating law and order situation under the Trinamool Congress Government. As has now, unfortunately, almost become the norm with any election in West Bengal, there have been strong accusations of electoral fraud amidst an atmosphere of violence, wherein journalists have also been attacked, and petty politics, that has not even spared the high office of the Governor. The situation has become so dire that the credibility of the entire poll process in West Bengal has now come under a cloud. Needless to say, this is a deeply worrying trend for any democratic, law-abiding society. Some supporters of the Trinamool Congress may seek to pass on the blame by pointing to the culture of electoral fraud, perpetuated by the left parties, which ruled the State for more than three decades, thanks to a well-oiled election machinery — but that is no excuse at all. The Trinamool Congress came to power with the promise of poribortan, and this is surely not the kind of change the voters had in mind. The Government in Kolkata has a growing record of face-offs with poll officers; is openly critical of the Governor's office; and faced with recurring allegations of electoral fraud and violence.
It may be worthwhile to recall that in 2013, the Government had fought a protracted battle with the then State Election Commissioner, Ms Mira Pande, over how many phases the panchayat poll would be held in, and also on the deployment of Central security forces during the election. Matters came to a head, and Ms Pande dragged the State Government to the apex court, which then ruled in favour of the Election Commission. This was deeply embarrassing for the Government, which also faced much criticism for seemingly trying to weaken constitutional safeguards. Interestingly, after the tenure of Ms Pande, a retired officer from the Indian Administrative Service, came to an end, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee turned away from the Central cadre and handpicked Mr Upadhyay, a retired member of the West Bengal Civil Service, to head the State Election Commission. But here too, the relationship quickly turned sour. like in Ms Pande's case, with Mr Upadhyay too, the Government had a major disagreement over the deployment of Central forces, alleging that it was kept out of the decision-making process. However, the main trigger for the current crisis was the Government's staunch opposition to Mr Upadhyay's decision to defer the counting of votes and instead have a re-poll in some places, after reports of violence and booth capturing came to the fore. The Trinamool Congress strongly and publicly opposed the decision. Mr Upadhyay eventually resigned from his position, ostensibly under political pressure.
Slice it whichever way, this makes the State Government look bad. Worse still, the Government has now appointed a serving bureaucrat, State Transport Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, as Mr Upadhyay's successor. This is expected to become a legal challenge. Those in Government service are usually not appointed to such positions as they may not be able to function independently.